Rain
by XCherokeeRoseX
Summary: Just a short Caryl fic


The rain pounded down, clattering on the metal roof of the watchtower loudly. The storm was violent, the wind thrashing the rain towards the tall building and splattering it against the grimy windows. Carol's eyes were narrowed as she looked through the glass panel, unable to see clearly through the heavy sheet of falling water. Keeping watch was going to prove to be very difficult in weather like this. With a frustrated sigh, the slender woman began to turn away from the droplet covered window, before she detected a slight amount of movement from the corner of her eye. Pressing against the glass with rifle in hand, she stared down at the figure moving quickly across the wet ground below. Too fast to be a walker. Looked like it was coming from the cell block in which they made their home. She relaxed her tensed muscles, and loosened her grip on the weapon. It had to be one of the group members. Clear blue eyes automatically flashed to the clock hanging from the dirty wall behind her. _It's not time to switch watch yet, _she thought, returning her gaze to the ground, only to find the figure gone. Confusion plastered her face. _I could have sworn…_

A loud noise behind her caused Carol to jump, quickly turning to face the trapdoor a few feet from where she took. A wet, dripping figure emerged from the opening, shaking his head and sending more droplets her way as he closed the door behind him.

"Daryl, what are you doing out here?" she asked, concern creeping into her voice as she took in the soaked man standing before her. Every inch of his muscularly built body had been saturated by the rain, and his clothes were drenched. A shiver caused him to shake tremendously, before he started to pull off his soaking jacket.

"Thought I'd keep ya company out here. Besides, them Woodbury folks are gettin' a little agitating with nothin' to keep 'em amused" he grumbled, dumping the jacket on the ground. A puddle formed at his feet as the water continued to drip from his body. Carol set down the weapon she held in her hands, and hurried over to him.

"I guess they're just too used to livin' that 'luxurious' life they had back in Woodbury"

"Daryl, you're soaked. You shouldn't have come out here, I'm fine by myself. You're gonna make yourself sick if you don't dry yourself off soon" Carol said as she started ushering the man back towards the door. He smirked.

"You're really gonna make me go back out _there_?" he responded, gesturing with his head to the rain pelting down just outside the window.

"But you can't stay in here, you'll catch your death without dry clothes" she protested, before briefly considering his statement. Carol thought for a moment, arms crossed in front of her chest, before removing the thick, black jacket she wore over her clothes.

"Take off your shirt, you can wear this" she said, handing him the heavy garment and picking up his leather jacket from the floor and neatly hanging it over the back of chair she'd been sitting on during her shift.

"Wouldn't you like to see that" he grumbled under his breath.

Wait. _Had he just-_

A surprised smile formed on Carol's lips as she crossed her arms over her chest. She would be lying if she said she wasn't completely stunned at that kind of remark from him. Daryl never even knew how to respond to her flirtatious comments. For once she was the one who was lost for words. But she was actually kind of proud. He was learning.

Daryl himself looked taken aback by his own words, after realising he had actually said that out loud. A small blush rose on his face, and he forced himself to look away as he removed his shirt, before draping it over the chair along with his jacket. A small giggle escaped from Carol's lips as she brought a cardigan-covered hand to her mouth, biting her bottom lip. He shot her brief glance, but quickly retreated to his former position with his back turned as he finished dressing. It was an odd occurrence for him to be so comfortable undressing in front of anyone, revealing the scars running chaotically across his back. But he trusted Carol.

Carol leaned sideways to rest her shoulder against the wall looking down for a moment.

"How are the kids holding up in there? Keeping themselves busy?" she asked, her head tilted slightly to the side.

"Yeah. Surprisingly they're the easy part. It's the older ones that are complainin'" he responded, finally turning back around and meeting her eyes.

"Who would've thought? World's coming to an end, and it's the adults that need babysitting when they have nothing to do" she returned with a small chuckle.

A whisper of a smile flashed across Daryl's face, a rare occurrence brought about only when in her presence. Carol beamed on the inside. She loved the fact that she could make him smile, or make him laugh. People didn't do much of that anymore. Especially Daryl Dixon.

"Well, I can see why you got fed up with them in there"

"I don't need a bunch a' whinin' people to make me wanna come see you" he said softly, trying to avoid meeting her eyes. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other. He still wasn't good with this sort of stuff.

Carol's smile widened, and she took a few paces forwards, only stopping a few inches in front of him. It was so cute to see him acting all embarrassed in front of her. Clear blue eyes looked lovingly at his, as he finally gave in and returned her gaze.

"You know, I'm glad you came after all" she said with a smile. Her fingers entwined with his, pulling her body closer to his until they were touching. She could hear his breathing quicken, his heart racing. Daryl was a little unsure of what to do, having little to none experience with women, but he didn't pull back. She was warm against his damp, freezing body. He gripped her soft, delicate hands tighter in his own, leaning forward a little, but hesitating to move further. Carol picked up on his lingered movement and leaned in the rest of the way, until their foreheads were just touching. Her lips brushed lightly against his, tempting him to lean in closer of his own accord.

"God it's freezing out there"

The trapdoor swung open, startling the pair as they quickly jumped away from each other. A slightly confused Glenn stood halfway through the door, pausing to look at the two for a moment.

"Am I… interrupting something?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at the pair as they regained their breath. Daryl grunted, leaning back against the wall behind him, his eyes wandering to the ground and refusing to look up.

"Is it time to swap shifts already?" Carol asked, avoiding answering his question.

"Yep. Lucky me, right, sitting up here alone for a couple hours" he replied, as he scrambled through the hole and hurried to close it behind him. "Unlike you two apparently" he added with a smirk, before picking up the rifle Carol had propped up against the wall. She rolled her eyes at his remark, releasing a small sigh before heading towards the hatch. Daryl moved quickly to overtake her. He removed the coat and placed it around her shoulders, taking care to keep his exposed back turned away from Glenn's eyes, and hurried to get his damp clothing back on. Carol held onto the heavy material, keeping it in place on her on her shoulders. A thankful smile emerged on her lips.

Daryl grabbed the hatch and swung it open, the hinges groaning and creaking from the movement.

"After you" he mumbled, giving a small gesture to the now open trapdoor. Carol stepped through the hole and onto the ladder below, carefully moving down the rungs. Daryl soon followed, taking the time to give Glenn a warning glance before closing the hatch over his head. Darkness enveloped them, the occasional flash of lightning seeping through the cracks in the door the only source of light. Carol waited at the bottom of the ladder for him to reach the ground, then started making her was towards the large, metal door. He quickly overtook her.

"You ready?" Daryl asked, placing a ready hand on the handle. Carol nodded, stepping closer to his body. Daryl wrapped his other hand around her waist, pulling her close, before swinging open the heavy door and hurrying into the storm.

They ran the whole way. The wind howled around them, thrashing the falling rain seemingly in every direction at once. Icy rain stung any exposed skin like daggers, and wind whipped loose clothing around fiercely. Daryl's arm was draped around her, holding her right beside him in an attempt to protect her from the rain. Carol buried her head into his chest. She laughing with delight as the rain soaked them both. Daryl smiled as rain ran down his face, the rain causing his hair to stick to his skin. He refused to let any distance come between them while they ran towards the shelter of the prison. Thunder boomed overhead, quickly followed by lightning which lit up the dark sky.

"Nearly there, come on" Daryl exclaimed, motioning towards the rapidly approaching gate. It opened with a screech, made barely audible by the surrounding storm, as the two pushed through to the other side. Daryl made sure to close it firmly so the wind wouldn't swing it open during the night. Feet pounded swiftly up the steps two at a time. The wind shook the fence surrounding the doorway, causing it to rattle around them. Together, they pushed open the door and tumbled in, slamming the door behind them. The sound of heavy breathing filled the room, loud even against the ferocious storm only on the other side of the door. Carol breathed a small laugh, still trying to catch her breath. The pair were soaked to the bone, an enormous puddle formed at their feet.

"Well, that was… fun" she said, examining her now drenched clothing. Droplets still dribbled down her face, some dripped from the ends of her hair. Daryl grunted in agreement.

"Yeah, until you get a cold" he said as he breathed warm air onto his hands. He grabbed a section of his shirt and squeezed it, releasing a large flow of water.

"Come on, we've got to go get dry" Carol said heading towards the cells. As they walked through the prison, Daryl noticed the presence of silence that hadn't been there before.

"Wasn't this quiet when I was here. Must've all hit the hay already" he guessed, a note of surprise in his voice.

"So what you're saying is we have the whole place to ourselves?" said Carol with a sly grin. He nudged her playfully with his elbow. The pair climbed the metal steps quietly, trying not to wake the people peacefully sleeping in their cells.

Soon they reached Carol's cell. She parted the cloth that draped down in front of the doorway. Daryl stood outside for a moment, unsure of whether or not he should follow her in. Carol turned and, with a smile, gestured with her head for him to follow her inside. He shuffled forward, letting the cloth fall back into its place behind him. The cell was neat, aside from a few items of clothing thrown haphazardly on the bottom bunk. Otherwise it was kept in an orderly matter. A small lamp illuminated the room with a warm yellow glow.

Without hesitation she began to shed the soaking coat that was draped over her shoulders, revealing slightly dry, but still damp clothes underneath. She continued to remove the next layer of wet clothing, before draping the cardigan along with her coat across end of the bed. Grabbing a handful of damp material in each hand, Carol began to take off her top, before shooting a glance at the man behind her.

"Are you just going to stand there or are you going to get dry?" she asked grinning. Heat rose to his cheeks as he realised that he'd just been staring as she undressed, and immediately looked away as he began to strip off his shirt and jacket. He turned to find Carol wrapped in a thin, worn blanket, another gripped in the hand she held out towards him. He gratefully took the material, draping it over his bare shoulders.

"You can sleep in here tonight if you want to. It been a little lonely in here since… um…" she trailed off, her eyes darting to the ground. He gave an understanding nod, and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. Their eyes met, and they remained that way for a moment, before Carol made her way up the ladder to her bunk. Daryl moved some of the clothes out of the way and made himself comfortable in the bottom bunk. Reaching out a hand, he switched off the light, causing the room to plunge into darkness.

"Night" Carol called down from her bunk.

"Night" he replied. He could hear her squirming around trying to get comfortable. He did the same thing, in an attempt to accustom himself to the new bed. Silence soon filled the room, the sound of steady breathing the only thing to be heard.

"Still cold" Daryl grunted, breaking the silence. He heard a giggle from above, before the sound of movement met his ears. Carol clambered down the ladder back onto the cold ground. Peeling back the blanket covering Daryl's body, she gently eased herself onto the mattress beside him. She pressed herself against his cold skin, burying her head into his neck.

"Better now?" she asked, a contented smile appearing on her face. He wrapped his arms around her heated body, holding her close.

"Perfect".


End file.
